


To Have Faith Is To Have Wings

by Citizen_Draiochta



Series: The Wind Beneath Our Wings [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Big Brother Sans, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Hope, I made a mistake there's lots of angst, Queerplatonic Relationships, Wings, all monsters have wings, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:39:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citizen_Draiochta/pseuds/Citizen_Draiochta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every monster has their own wings, and they reflect their emotional state. Wings are affected whenever their soul is affected, and vice versa. These wings are unable to lift them, and instead are often used as ways of showing affection, comfort, and protection, of their loved ones, while also used to intimidate or threaten enemies. In battle, these wings take any damage that the monster would have taken, as they are used as shields. The removal of a monster’s wings is a cruel and unspeakable thing. To do so would be to remove a monster’s defenses entirely and to reduce both their health and the strength of their attack to one. They turn to dust upon removal, and then dissolve into nothingness within the next minute, leaving behind only a couple of feathers. Wings cannot be grown back; a monster only has one pair their entire life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! You can find me at my tumblr https://mercy-or-genocide.tumblr.com where I post Undertale fan stuff (art, headcanons, moodboards, short fics, and the like). I'll be more active on there, now that I've got my life in some semblance of order xD

You remembered the first time you had seen Toriel, with her purple wings, the feathers white-tipped and iridescent. She had stood over you regally, wings loosely open as she batted Flowey away with a simple fireball, before she had pulled them close to herself and smiled at you. You had stared in wonder at them and blushed when she had caught you looking. It was later as you wandered the ruins that you had discovered that each monster had their own wings.

You remembered a Froggit’s tiny pair, green and brown as they'd shielded themselves in battle. You had startled and swung your stuck at them before you knew what was happening, and watched in horror as a couple of feathers drifted off. Immediately you had fallen to your knees, apologizing profusely and fretting over them. When the battle was over, after you had spared them, you’d carefully wrapped their wing in a bandage and smiled as they'd hopped away. The next battles, you weren't as surprised, and you spared everyone, watching as they unfolded their wings after each one and displayed the beautiful feathers that shimmered with delight. Even Napstablook, despite his shy and self-deprecating demeanor, had wings that sparkled when you had clapped at his “Dapperblook.”

When you’d fought Toriel, her wings had been flared regally open, half raised, instead of in a defensive shield like all the other monsters’ had been. Her eyes had been cold and distant, and you could see that despite her best efforts to keep them steady, they had been drooping, the feathers faded and dull. With every dodge and every spare, they faded even more. When you had finally been hit, barely grazed by a fireball, you had seen them snap wide open, tensing as though they too, were in pain. And as you'd said your farewells, they had wrapped around you in a cocoon that shielded you from the world, and for a moment as you stood in her embrace, feathers surrounding you, you had truly believed you were safe from harm.

You had asked Flowey once, as he greeted you outside the ruins, why he didn't have wings. He had sneered at you and told you he didn't have use for them. You left it at that.

After Sans had greeted you, you thought it best not to ask about his apparent lack of wings. You didn't want to seem rude after Flowey’s reaction. When you met his brother, Papyrus, you had stared again in wonder at him. His wings were a beautiful white, whose outer feathers gradually became a bright cyan-turquoise. They had been held open behind him as he marched into the clearing, and snapped neatly shut, standing proudly against his shoulders and back as he strode out. Crouched behind the lamp, you had watched as his wings betrayed his supposed annoyance at Sans’ puns, the tips twitching in amusement as he fought to suppress a smile.

All of the dogs had had almost the exact same wings, a silvery-gray that sparkled gently like snow in sunlight. Chilldrake and Snowdrake had identical wings that marked them as twin brothers. Ice cap had had an adorable pair, with a wingspan of only one foot, with bright blue feathers the color of a clear sky whose tips were transparent like icicles.

Out of everyone’s in Snowdin, Grillby’s and Papyrus’ had been the most magnificent in your opinion, although you kept that to yourself. Grillby had wings made of fire, whose flames changed color and size depending on his mood, and could curl gently towards you to warm your hands as you rested from the chill of Snowdin. You remembered sitting at the bar with Sans as he treated you to a burger, and wondering once again why he didn't have wings. You had almost asked, after witnessing his ever-present good nature, but thought it insensitive to do so in front of so many people.

In Waterfall, you had walked with MK, whose orange and brown wings had been a source of comfort more than once when you had felt yourself falter for a moment. He had used them to wrap you in a hug after you had saved him, despite his lack of arms. You remembered smiling into the feathers and patting his shoulder just before you’d parted. They had felt as light as air as they settled over you and you caught the faintest whiff of cinnamon in them.

You had also met Sans again there with his prank telescope. Once again you found yourself wondering where his wings were. You didn’t stay around long enough to ask.

When you had met Undyne, you had nearly stood still in awe at hers. They had been a vibrant forest green, alternating with russet feathers and held proudly behind her as she chased you through the area. You almost felt like you had wings yourself, as you dodged every attack as neatly as you could, flying across the ground in leaps and bounds, crisscrossing your way through the tangle of spears. Then, she had cornered you, and they had opened to an impressive ten and a half foot wingspan that loomed over you threatningly. You had waited for death from her, but instead you were thrown from the bridge as spears collided into it, slicing the chunk you were standing on clean off, and you had fallen, and fallen, and fallen. You remembered distinctly wishing for wings as you went down, down, down.

You remembered dreaming. You had heard a voice, a voice you now knew to be Asriel. You remembered seeing a silhouette of a small figure, a tiny pair of wings extended from their shoulders. You remembered thinking they had rather looked like an angel that had come to save you.

You had woken on a bed of golden flowers.

In the garbage dump, you had met Mad Dummy, who, rather comically, had a ghostly set of wings sprouting from his mannequin body. You had been polite though, and simply stayed silent while he ranted at you, and dodged the magic attacks, angling yourself so that they would occasionally clip him, valiantly hoping he would tire of it. He did, and slid off to do his own thing. Then, you had visited Napstablook. The shy ghost had opened your eyes to a whole side of the world that you hadn’t know existed. As you lay with him on the floor, you swore you could see his wings grow until he looked like an angel, and when you had looked at yourself, you thought you could see your own pair glimmering up at you. The trance had broken later, and you were slightly disappointed, but eternally grateful to him. You gave him a ghost of a hug, and he did the same to you. You could see his wings looking brighter and you had given him a big smile.

The temmies had been interesting, to say the least. Their wings had been miniscule, completely disproportionate to their body size, but they had been beautiful. Sparkling, shimmering rainbows of feathers had greeted you at their village and you had marveled at them.

Then, you had confronted Undyne for the last time. In battle, her wings were folded around here in defense, but they looked ready to whip out and smack you away. You had been terrified, but determined. You ran at the first chance that was given to you, and as she whirled around to chase you, you could feel her feathers clipping your cheek.

Alphys, you thought, had had beautiful wings, even if she hadn’t seemed to think so herself. At first, they had been yellow and flecked with gray here and there. They had been bedraggled and you thought you spotted a few sparse patches here and there. You remembered an entry you had read in the Snowdin library.

> _Every monster has their own wings, and they reflect their emotional state. Wings are affected whenever their soul is affected, and vice versa. These wings are unable to lift them, and instead are often used as ways of showing affection, comfort, and protection, of their loved ones, while also used to intimidate or threaten enemies. In battle, these wings take any damage that the monster would have taken, as they are used as shields. The removal of a monster’s wings is a cruel and unspeakable thing. To do so would be to remove a monster’s defenses entirely and to reduce both their health and the strength of their attack to_ **_one_ ** _. They turn to dust upon removal, and then dissolve into nothingness within the next minute, leaving behind only a couple of feathers. Wings cannot be grown back; a monster only has one pair their entire life._

You had thought to yourself that Alphys must have been in a lot of emotional pain if her wings were in such disarray, and you took it upon yourself to make sure they would be restored to their natural state. By the end of your journey, when you had finally reached the surface, they had been a beautiful, shining golden yellow.

When you had fought Muffet, you took note of her purple wings that had been relaxed around her, like they had been cradling her in her web as she played with the strings you were clinging onto.

Mettaton had been interesting. With feathers that had been bright pink with black tips, and what looked like actual glitter on his wings, he had broken through Alphys’ wall. They looked rather strange on his rectangular body, but once he had revealed his humanoid form, you thought he had looked fabulous.

It had been the dinner with Sans before you entered the CORE that you had finally asked him about his own wings. His answer hadn’t been any kind of answer at all.

“every monster has wings,” he had said with a wink and a shrug.

He was gone before you could say another word.

And then...then you had seen him. You had seen him in his role of judge as he had explained to you what all of your STATs were. You had seen him in the judgement hall, golden light filtering through the windows with the Delta Rune. It had formed a sort of halo around him, and you thought that you could see a pair of wings spread out from his back, the shades of blue and black standing out against the warm colors of the hall. He had looked like a true angel of judgement as he told you the meaning of LOVE. You blinked, and they were gone.

“...you never gained LOVE, but you gained love…”

Asgore had been truly magnificent. You had seen his soft, kind hearted side, but when he had faced you down, you saw what had made him a king. He looked regal with his white wings spread behind him, a golden sheen to them. It had been enough to shock you into almost being grazed by a fireball, but then, Toriel had arrived, and suddenly all your friends were there, until Flowey had attacked...but you were still not alone. Every single monster you had befriended had come to cheer you on, and in that moment you swore you could feel a pair of wings rippling behind you, being buffeted by an imaginary wind.

You had faced down Asriel Dreemurr, whose own wings were a multitude of colors, glinting in the rainbow light that poured in all around you as you called out to him time and time again, holding onto your hopes and dreams.

And now you were at the surface, staring into the sunset with your mother, until she guided you away and to your friends, your family, your new family, and to your new home.


	2. Chapter 2

It was dusk when you had stepped out of the Underground with all of your friends in town. Now, it was early night as the stars first began to twinkle in the sky. The monsters were jittery with excitement, unable to sleep as they all gazed upwards at the vast expanse that had been denied from them for so long. You half listened as Alphys babbled about the constellations and the moon and tides. Papyrus was star struck, silent for once as he stared in awe. Asgore sat alone under a tall pine tree, the twinkling lights above doing nothing to comfort him. Toriel had curled up beside Alphys and Undyne and began chipping in with her own stories. Sans stood in the middle of a clearing a ways away with his hands in his pockets. He was still. You hesitated a moment, and turned your feet towards Asgore.

You could make out his wings in the moonlight, dull and faded. He had a pained look on his face, but it was resigned. His eyes reflected the stars. Even with his head turned upwards, his shoulders seemed to hunch inward and he looked small. There was an unspoken message in his stance.

_I await your judgement._

“The stars are cold,” he murmured as you drew near. “They are cold and unforgiving.”

You heard the silent sentences.

_I see the children in the stars. I see the children that I murdered._

You stepped in front of him and he turned his gaze to you. His eyes were searching. They were searching for punishment. You shook your head and smiled softly. You placed one hand on his chest above where his heart would be and you swore you could feel his soul. You took your other hand and laid it flat on your own chest, where your soul passed through every time it was summoned. Then, you traced a star with your index finger over his chest.

_They forgive you._

You tilted your head and carefully wrapped your arms around him. He let out a choked chuckle, a half sob half laugh as he returned the hug. His wings came up to cocoon you in a curtain of gold and you saw some of their glimmer returned to the feathers.

“Thank you, child,” he whispered into your ear. “You gave us all hope and you have set us free. Now, you forgive me in place of those I have wronged. I will forever be grateful.”

You pulled back after a few moments, and placed palm on his cheek for a brief instant. You traced a finger down his wings, marveling at the silky feel of the feathers. A laugh rumbled in his chest.

“Child, do you know why monsters have wings?”

You looked him in the eyes and waited for him to continue.

“To have faith is to have wings. We monsters we made of little more than magic and compassion. Our dust was said to have come from the stars. Our love, our kindness, was our faith. If...if we were to lose that faith…”

He trailed off. Your eyes widened by a fraction.

“We were so close to it,” he said quietly. “We were nearly lost to darkness. And you brought us hope again. You have returned us to the surface.”

The true magnitude of your actions slammed into you and you turned to gaze at your friends, your family that had followed you out of the Underground. His gaze followed yours and a smile graced his features.

“Go to them,” he urged. “I will join you later. Leave an old monster to his rambling thoughts.”

You gave him one last smile and began to walk back. Once again, you hesitated. Sans hadn't moved. As you considered your options, Alphys called out to you.

“F-frisk! I-I...I need to talk to you.”

You strode over to her. She gave you a nervous smile, but it was a drastic improvement to her near-grimace at your first meeting. A clawed hand patted the ground on her other side and you sat by her.

“I need to thank you,” she said quietly, “for bringing me back. And helping me have faith. In myself.”

“Yeah punk! Thank’s for uh, saving my girlfriend.” Undyne seemed to teeter for a moment.

“And thanks for never losing faith in Papyrus. And me. And all of us. You kept trying to be friends even though we uh, tried to...y’know.”

You giggled slightly and threw your arms around the both of them as far as you could reach. Your mother’s voice sounded behind you.

“Frisk my child,” she began softly. “We truly do thank you with all of our hearts. You have brought peace and happiness to us time and time again and you have brought us to the surface. You have given us back the stars.”

You felt your eyes welling with heartfelt tears of happiness at their thanks and you turned to look at Toriel in an invitation. She needed nothing more to wrap you in her wings and arms. Undyne had one curled around Alphys and one curled around the outside of Toriel’s. Alphys had cushioned herself with hers and all of a sudden you were lost in a sea of feathers. You didn’t mind. It was comforting to have your family all around you. You felt safe. You felt at home, and the emotions of your friends pulsed through their wings and you could feel it. It filled you with a bright glow inside that set your heart alight and your gut relaxed and content. But you felt a small hole that grew ever larger with each second. You gently untangled yourself from their rather sloppy embrace and stood up, heading over to Papyrus a couple of meters away. He had fallen asleep now, his face smiling peacefully and his limbs relaxed. His wings were wrapped around him somewhat in a blanket of warmth. You kissed his cheekbone and patted his chest with your hand. As you turned around, you heard a slight mumble.

“HUMAN. FRISK. THANK YOU. I ALWAYS HAD FAITH IN YOU.”

A smile blossomed across your face as you turned back and dropped to your knees to give him a quick hug. His arms came up around you. A hand stroked your hair once and another rested firmly on your back. When he released you, he had closed his eyes again, his smile wider. You hoped he would sleep peacefully under the watch of the moon.

You made to walk to Sans - he still hadn’t moved - but before you could take a step you were intercepted by Mettaton, Naptsablook, and Mad Dummy. The three ghosts, one now a corporeal humanoid robot and another possessing the body of a dummy, each offered you a smile of their own. Mettaton flashed you a wide, blinding grin, but it was softened by the genuine thanks behind it. Napstablook gave you a watery smile that grew in confidence when you smiled back at him. And Mad Dummy looked slightly ashamed, but gave you a small tentative smile anyway.

“Hello darling,” said the familiar robotic voice. “I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you. You kept us all from falling into despair. You kept the hope in the Underground...and with a certain flair of your own, if I do say so myself.”

He winked at you and you laughed a little. You surprised him with a hug, and he looked a little shocked before he drew you in. He was awkward at first, but then you dragged Mad Dummy into it as well and beckoned Napstablook. The shy little ghost settled over you like a breath of cool, fresh air. You drew back and waved, then quickly side stepped. As you tread softly on the forest ground, everything began to take on a blue tint, as though you were back in Waterfall. The trees loomed over you but you felt sheltered beneath them. You almost fell when you stumbled on a hidden stump but you caught yourself on a branch.

As you stood at the edge of the clearing, you saw that Sans had the hood of his jacket up. He was utterly still, as though someone had frozen him in time and placed him there. You cautiously took a step forward into the clearing. You’d never seen him with his hood up, ever. He didn’t move. You took another step, and another, and another, until you were just behind him.

You stood on your tiptoes and pulled on the hood. It fell down slowly, until it was resting on his shoulders again. There was a barely audible sigh that came from him. You took that as a good sign. He was no longer statue still. You stepped out to the side and gently pulled his right hand out from his pocket. You took it in yours, holding it firmly. You made it clear that you weren’t letting go.

“heya kiddo,” he said.

His voice was sad? No, sad wasn’t the word. It wasn’t anything you’d ever heard before, but it was something you knew you’d felt somewhere. It spoke volumes. You squeezed his fingers a little bit. They tightened around yours in return, forming a link between the two of you.

“i gotta say, this is one heck of a sight better than the caves,” he continued. “i’m starstruck by it.”

You would have laughed in another situation. Now, you just held on.

“we got you to thank for it. ‘s real nice seeing the stars and moon and the sky.”

He sighed again, a little louder this time.

“i’m gonna be honest with you. i didn’t think we would ever make it out of there. suppose you’d know all about why. resets and everything. time shenanigans can wear out a guy. i’m bone tired after all of it.”

You tensed. You had never reset, even though you knew you had the option. You had never even loaded a SAVE voluntarily. It was something you never could have dreamed of doing, starting all over again. You knew there was something wrong with that. Even if you had made mistakes, you were not above the consequences. To erase your progress and mistakes would be to run away from them. So you had never reset. Then...what was he talking about? Was it the loads that had happened whenever you died? You felt sick at the thought of putting the skeleton through that. You wondered how he even knew about it when nobody else seemed to remember.

“i suppose you could say i lost faith. i lost my faith in getting outta there, in getting anything done, really.”

He wouldn’t look at you. You felt the world beginning to tilt on it’s axis, ready to send you into a spiraling whirlpool of guilt -

“you asked me once why i didn’t have wings.”

\- and it was about to throw you over the edge. Had he lost his wings when he lost his faith? Asgore had said that would happen when a monster lost their faith. At least, he had implied it, but -

“i asked you once about a talking flower.”

\- the world froze, then slowly righted itself.

“i didn’t mean the echo flowers. i know you know who i’m talking about. the golden one. the little weed named flowey.”

He knew about Flowey? Did that mean he knew about Asriel too?

“before you came along, he would reset. everything happened over and over and over again. countless timelines all overlapping with one another...he did everything. he killed everyone. he made friends with everyone. and in every timeline he tried to make my life hell.”

Sadness filled you, for both Asriel and Sans. Asriel wouldn’t have ever wanted somebody to suffer like that. And Sans, poor Sans who had endured it all...it broke your heart to think about it.

“then you came along. guess you were more determined than he was, eh? he couldn’t mess with time anymore.”

But you could...at least, you could while you were Underground, before Asriel had appeared and fought you, before you had confronted him and Chara had made peace with him so they could move onto the next realm.

“before you came along he cut off my wings. in every timeline. and then you fell down and he couldn’t reset and so he couldn’t bring them back. suppose it’s for the best though. he’d probably try to find a way to cut them off with you down there anyway.”  
You could only stand there in horror. You couldn’t imagine how it felt, being stripped bare of your defenses, left vulnerable to the world, to have your hope yanked away from you time and time again.

He finally turned to look down at you. He offered you a grin. Your lips trembled before you threw yourself at him. You dove into his open jack and hugged him as tightly as you could. The jacket settled around you like a pair of wings, and then the waterworks began. Was that why he wore the jacket all the time? Was it his second set of wings, wings that he could never have again? You cried into his white shirt, feeling silly that you were the one pouring out tears when if anybody should, it should’ve been him. His arms came up to hold you to him as you fisted his shirt and buried your face, sobbing for him. You heard his breath hitch in a funny manner, almost like he was holding back tears of his own. You gently released his shirt and looked up at him, then reached a hand up to place on the side of his skull, tears still running down your face. There was a strange blue glow on the bottom of his eyes, and he blinked rapidly. It was to no avail.

Silvery-blue tears began to roll down his face as he smiled at you. He raised an arm and grabbed your hand, tucking it back inside his jacket before drawing you close again. Three tears splashed onto the top of your head. You held each other for an indefinite amount of time. Time seemed to stop for the two of you, your world narrowed down to each other for that moment.

Eventually, your shaking lessened, the sobs gentled, no longer wracking your body with violent shudders, and your tears stopped flowing. He held you for a moment longer, and then pulled you back. Once outside of his jacket, you felt slightly lost, as though you were floundering in shallow water, unable to process that you could walk. It felt strange.

His eyes were a little blue around the edges, just as yours were red from crying. His face was dry though, and he was grinning softly.

“i - i’m okay now kid,” he said. “i got my faith back.”

You tilted your head a little shakily at him.

“you brought hope to all ‘a the underground. y’think you wouldn't bring some to me too?”

He winked.

“kiddo, i may not ever get my wings back physically but you gave me wings anyway. I can't be more thankful for that.”

You were shocked. An indescribable giddiness bubbled up inside you and you let out a breathless laugh. You hugged him again. He chuckled. You stepped away and traced a heart in his palm. Asriel’s words echoed back to you.

_Monsters are weird. Even though they barely know you… It feels like they all really love you._

You took his hand and led him the nearest tree. You opened your mouth. You rarely spoke - in fact, you had said a total of seven sentences while journeying through the Underground - but you would use your words for this.

“Knock knock,” you said as you rapped your knuckles on the wood.

“who’s there?” Sans replied, his tone half curious and half amused.

“Olive.”

“Olive who?”

You smiled.

“Olive you,” you said softly.

“i love you too kiddo,” he murmured.

You sat together under the stars, leaning against a tree as you told each other knock knock jokes. The wind rustled through the trees and blew past you, and as it ruffled your hair, you swore it ruffled a pair of blue and black wings as well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! It was a pleasure to write, a little (lot) self indulgent, and quite relaxing as I wound down my night. Keep your eyes open for a very, very likely sequel story, and definitely oneshots here and there.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at mercy-or-genocide.tumblr.com and on Instagram at rainy.days.doodle!


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